Sunday, April 21, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction--April 22, 2013

A Step in the Write
Direction

April 22,
2013

Update:

Don’t have much to update—just
did a couple of proofing jobs this week, one a book for women and one a great
book on the Holy Spirit by Lloyd Ogilvie. Also had a birthday party for our
daughter visiting from Oklahoma, and tonight we had her family, our
other two children, and some friends over for hamburgers, etc., and slides from
the “olden days.”

Tomorrow morning we have to be at
the hospital at 7 a.m. for my husband to get his new defibrillator implanted.
Our specific prayer request is that they can use the same wires. If not (and
they couldn’t the last time), this will require another hospital stay and
another surgeon/surgery. We appreciate your prayers so much.

Next Friday a publisher is taking
a series of six of my devotional books to committee. Just praying for God’s will
if that is the right publisher!

Thought for the
Day:

“Don’t aspire to
make a living. Aspire to make a difference” (Denzel Washington in GQ).

Laugh for the
Day: (a little late for tax day, but
funny)Father O'Malley answers the phone... "Hello, is this Father
O'Malley?" "It is." "This is the IRS. Can you help us?" "I can." "Do you know a
Ted Houlihan?" "I do." "Is he a member of your congregation?" "He is." "Did he
donate $10,000.00?" (pause) "He will."

Challenge for the
Day:

Following is a testimony from
reader Joana Melisia James: For a while I’ve been feeling like writing was
pointless. I lost my zeal and I felt like I wasn’t really helping anyone. A few
days ago, my best friend from high school—whom I haven’t seen in about a decade
as she now lives in the US—sent me a message. She is engaged
and 3 months pregnant. Two weeks before the wedding, her fiancé called to say he
wanted to postpone the wedding (he really sounded like he wants to call it off
though). She was devastated and really scared for what her future would turn out
to be. Then she picked up my devotional “Trusting God with your future.” Her
exact words were, “Thank you for writing this book because now I know that no
matter what happens, God is in control of my future.”

Is there something God has laid on your
heart to write that would help someone going through a rough time
today?

Writer’s
Hints:

Since one day last week was
Newspaper Columnist Day, I thought you might enjoy some hints on writing for
newspapers:

Years ago, I wrote a
devotional column called “Bits and Pieces” for a weekly Michigan newspaper. When
we moved to Arizona, I sold these same devotionals to the
daily newspaper under the title “Faith at Home” for the weekly church page.
(These eventually ended up in a woman’s devotional book for Standard
Publishing.)

How about your hobby or
skill—household or car repair hints, financial tips, couponing, or gardening.
Your occupation? A pediatric nurse wrote a question-and-answer column concerning
children’s health problems. History? A column on what happened 50 years ago on
this date will catch the eye of old-timers, as well as area newcomers. Profiles
on interesting people in your area? I wrote another column entitled “The
Parsonage Queen,” in which I interviewed local pastors’ wives.

Do you like to read? How
about a book review column? Or humor? Do you always see the weird side of
things?

If you're interested in
writing a column, write or visit the appropriate editor with your bio sheet,
along with several sample columns. This not only shows your writing ability, but
if he or she accepts the idea, you have extra columns on hand in case of
emergency or vacation.

If the editor expresses
interest but says the paper can’t pay, offer to write the column for free for a
period of time. Then ask friends to write or call the newspaper, saying how much
they enjoy the column. After an agreed-upon period, talk to the editor again and
say you’d like to continue writing at their regular rate.

About Me

Donna Clark Goodrich, freelance writer, editor, and speaker is a wife, mother of three and grandmother of two. A native of Jackson, Michigan, she has lived in Mesa, Arizona, since 1969. She enjoys teaching at Christian writers conferences. Author of 23 books and over 700 published manuscripts, Donna says, “I write devotional and self-help books to encourage Christians in their daily walk with God, how-to books to train writers, biographies to tell other people's stories, short stories and poetry for readers' enjoyment, and personal experience articles to share how God has helped me through life situations.”
dgood648@aol.com; www.thewritersfriend.net